ICCHP 2026

Young Researchers Consortium

We encourage young researchers in the field and academic or industrial advisors of doctoral students in AT, (e)Inclusion, Digital Inclusion and related fields to consider the YRC as a possibility to progress R&D and get involved in international exchange. Selected students will be invited to take part in a one-day pre-conference event. The top-rated contributions will be presented in a plenary session.

Costs for participation and accommodation in a student hostel (5 nights) for up to 10 Young Researchers with accepted contributions will be covered.
Interested students are asked to submit extended abstracts of their work by May 18, 2026.

Also consider publishing your valuable activity and know-how in OAC or LNCS. Please refer to the above descriptions and deadline for the publishing options (February 9, 2026 for Extended Abstracts).

Register Here!

Identification and support of “the next generation of experts” ensures the further development of Assistive Technology (AT) and eAccessibility as well as research continuity. 

Objectives

YRC allows Young Researchers to: 

  • Learn from experienced researchers in the field. The aim is to give the young researchers an understanding of – the history and the breadth of AT – research. This will be achieved through presentations and hands-on workshops given by experienced researchers and also by focused interaction between the experienced and the young researchers.
  • Present their research work and to receive constructive criticism and feedback from their peers and experienced researchers. This will be achieved by each participant giving a short presentation of his/her current work. Presentations will be reviewed in small workshop groups led by experienced researchers. The best contributions will be invited to present in a plenary session of ICCHP.
  • Discuss the future of AT research by identifying trends and hot topics in the area – in effect to suggest a 10-year agenda for the future of AT research. This will be achieved by group workshops that examine future trends in AT.

Timeframe

The YRC is planned as a 2 days workshop during ICCHP preconference (July 13 & 14, 2026).
For Young Researchers, participation in ICCHP sessions is for free – we encourage our Young Researchers to attend and connect to ICCHP activities and attendants!
Nevertheless, we will also have further discussions on selected topics and meetings with drivers in the area!

Who should take part

Young researchers are typically under 30 years of age and tackling their first or second major AT research or development project.
They are based at universities, research institutes, companies or other organizations.

The workshop will be held in English and young researchers should be able to answer questions and discuss their projects in English.

Research presented and discussed must be original, individual work.
Group applications will be rejected, although it is recognised that young researchers may be members of and supervised by a research team.
If the research is the result of group work and other members of the group would like to apply, too, each member must apply independently and present his/her own unique part of the research.
In case a selected participant is also a published ICCHP author (LNCS and/or Open Access Compendium), the full ICCHP author´s fee is mandatory.

In particular we want to invite young researchers with disabilities and aim to guarantee a high standard of accessibility of the experience.

Exclusion Criteria

Excluded are: 

  • Research projects that have not yet begun and are just draft / ideas.
  • The minimum expectation is that the young researcher has carried out a literature review on the topic, has identified research questions to pursue and methodologies to use.
  • Researchers with already more than five publications.
  • Researchers who want to take part in other activities (e.g., workshops, seminars, tutorials, meetings, etc.) taking place at the same time as the ICCHP – YRC, as a full time presence at the YRC sessions is required!
  • Submissions to the YRC that are not significantly different from work submitted to the ICCHP main conference.

Support for Young Researchers

ICCHP participation is free for selected Young Researchers (Please note: This is not applicable, if young researchers also publish with LNCS / Open Access Compendium and take part in the main program)

Applying for YRC

For latest and up-to-date information (Paper submission, notification of acceptance etc), check Keydates!

Prospective Deadline for submissions to our Conference Management System is May 18, 2026.

Prospective Deadline for the notification of acceptance is t.b.a.

Submissions

A typical submission is an abstract of the research work carried out.
Use the following structure / headings:

A) 2-3 page abstract outlining:

  • Introduction, Motivation for research, Research questions and objectives including research question(s)
  • Brief state-of-the-art
  • System Design
  • Methodology
  • Preliminary results and discussion if available / appropriate

The abstract must be 2-3 pages in length (including figures and references) in Springer LNCS Format.
Figures must be described within the text for screen reader access.

B) 1 page CV incl. a list of publications and the current state in your studies

C) Brief recommendation letter from supervisor about your progress/contributions to research.

D) Bring national cookies

To submit your contribution, use our Conference Management System (or register if you do not have an account yet) and go to the extended abstract upload form.

For open access proceedings, the YRC chairs will make decisions and recommendations for revising any YRC abstract submission. Publication will occur after the conference.

Programme

Based on the review, up to 12 presentations by students will be given at the consortium. Additional inputs will be given or organised by members of the chair panel.
The concept of the consortium is to enable discussion and advice.

For those individuals selected for the YRC, participation in the entire YRC programme is obligatory!
In case a selected participant is also a published ICCHP author (LNCS or Open Access Compendium), the full ICCHP author´s fee is mandatory.

Get Connected

#icchp26 #YoungResearchers #AssistiveTechnology #a11y

The ICCHP Young Researchers’ Consortium is co-organised by

  • JKU Linz, Austria
  • fhg health university of applied sciences tyrol, Austria
  • Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada